Beaugrande – The Processes of Invention: Association and Recombination

Beaugrande, Robert De. “The Processes of Invention: Association and Recombination.” College Composition and Communication 30 3 (1979): 260-67. Print. YES B. begins by highlighting that the inventional process is always bound to a “common repository of knowledge and experience shared by writers and readers’ (260).  In other words, it relies on common sense and common knowledge. B. notes that all information and knowledge is... Read More

Ehninger – George Campbell and the Revolution in Inventional Theory

Ehninger, Douglas. “George Campbell and the Revolution in Inventional Theory.” Southern Speech Journal 15  (1950): 270-76. Print. E. recognizes that Campbell’s Philosophy serves as the basis for many “present-day theories of discourse” – i.e., C-T pedagogy.  E. claims that Campbell’s work is most important because of the following ideas: 1) adapting discourse to the ends sought by speakers; 2) the distinction... Read More

Berlin – Richard Whately and Current-Traditional Rhetoric

Berlin, James. “Richard Whately and Current-Traditional Rhetoric.” College English 42  (1980): 10-17. Print. YES In this article Berlin argues that Whately was the primary force for shaping the teaching of writing during the 20th century. Relying on Richard Young, Berlin identified C-T rhetoric as the primary paradigm of writing instruction during the 20th century.  C-T places an emphasis on product, grammar, style, New Critical considerations... Read More

Bevilacqua – Adam Smith and Some Philosophical Origins of 18th Century Rhetorical Theory

Bevilacqua, Vincent. “Adam Smith and Some Philosophical Origins of Eighteenth-Century Rhetorical Theory.” Modern Language Review 63  (1968): 559-68. Print In this article B. wants to sketch out how a couple of particular “philosophical presuppositions” undergird the work that Smith did on rhetoric and belles lettres; in addition, he’ll also discuss how those same philosophical supports continued to influence rhetorical... Read More

Ulmer – Heuretics: The Logic of Invention (selections)

Ulmer, Gregory L. Heuretics : The Logic of Invention. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1994. Print Preface U. notes that Heuretics is an ongoing (at this time 2 decades long) project of “applying to academic discourse the lessons arising out of a matrix crossing French postructuralist theory, avant-garde experiments, and electronic media” in the context of education (xi).  He’s theorized/practiced this work as a means... Read More